Every job in the UK must comply to the national minimum wage, so I feel no need to tip. I do tip if the service I receive particularly deserves it, but I'll be damned if I'll tip half-arsed service just because it's expected.
Poll: Would you stop tipping if they made minimum wage?
- Thread starter DevilWithaHalo
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What is the point of minimal wage if jobs aren't required to meet that minimum?
Uh, well i only tip if i feel like they did a particularly good job, so i'd continue to do that i guess.
Uh, well i only tip if i feel like they did a particularly good job, so i'd continue to do that i guess.
No. Minimum wage is often not enough to live on, and especially in Britain if you made only minimum wage you'd be in poverty. The only two options are more than one job or tipping.
I'd tip, I don't want to be an asshole. I tip almost everyone who offers a customer service based job. Taxi drivers, bartenders, cashiers. I don't tip shelf stackers though because I remember from my shelf stacking days that there are a lot of very strict rules about what you are and aren't allowed to accept as gifts from customers, so I don't want to get them in trouble.
I'd tip, I don't want to be an asshole. I tip almost everyone who offers a customer service based job. Taxi drivers, bartenders, cashiers. I don't tip shelf stackers though because I remember from my shelf stacking days that there are a lot of very strict rules about what you are and aren't allowed to accept as gifts from customers, so I don't want to get them in trouble.
I do not approve. Enforced tipping is the same as saying "you will enjoy your meal and service" before you are even seated. It should be performance based. Good wait staff get more tips. Good workers in other fields get higher wages. In Sweden the good and the bad get paid the same? No thanks.Michael Logan said:
I'm with this guy 100%. If I were you I'd be flat out insulted by the hypocrisy. You have my respect for what that is worth.GiantRaven said:
There are ALOT of customer service jobs that are either as hard or harder than being a waiter, bellboy etc. Either you should tip all of them (Which nobody does) or none. The only reason people tip waitresses is tradition, not because their "work is hard" or they make minimum wage. Either start handing out tips to grocery store cashiers, fastfood place workers and stop putting certain jobs on a pedestal.
I tip good service. I've been called out twice for not tipping. My response was to tip less than a dollar and tell them to provide better service next time. I also like tipping at places I regularly return to because I like them so much. I have an Japanese place by my campus that I get food from once every week or so. I've given them some fantastic tips because I like them so much.
I would absolutely still tip. I'm frankly shocked people wouldn't. It really is quite scary, the sheer sense of entitlement people have when others are serving them. I feel like 70% of humanity would turn into Caligula overnight if they had the slightest opportunity, and there has in fact been some research to suggest I'm not too far off.
Well lets see. I'd still do it but only if they give exceptional service. I once gave this young girl a $13 tip for a $20 meal, she was that good. Funny, charming, and checked on our table frequently. Pretty as well 
Then there was this awful excuse for a human. Rudest waiter i've ever dealt with. Couldn't get orders right and checked on our table once in a whole hour. $40 meal, 50 cent tip. Deal with it
Then there was this awful excuse for a human. Rudest waiter i've ever dealt with. Couldn't get orders right and checked on our table once in a whole hour. $40 meal, 50 cent tip. Deal with it
Where I live waitresses definately get pissy if you don't tip, which is funny because there is NO difference in minimum wage here so the waitstaff is making a minimum of $10.40 an hour adn at fancier places like the one my sister works at she makes $19.65 an hour, full time with benefits...and they still want a tip on top of that. She told me once that if she has 7-8 tables in an hour and they "only" tip 15% she makes nearly $95 an hour on average. TO me that's just crazy and makes me think I'm in the wrong business. The waitstaff also occasionally lies about the wage law to make people think they don't make as much...because then they are likely to tip better.
As for the pizza delivery. I did that as one of my first jobs. I made minimum wage, got free gas and they subsidized my auto insurance. Not bad for a pretty braindead job of listening to the radio and handing people their orders in a town I know like hte back of my hand.
Meanwhile I tried to tip the guy who delivered my new TV. The guy was EXTREMELY helpful when picking it out and was able to make lots of recomendations (That had nothing to do with any comission), and in the end, saved us a bunch of $$$. When the delivery came it was the same guy and he had to carry it a fair distance. When offered the tip he refused saying he could get FIRED for accepting a tip. Meanwhile the person who's entire job is to bring me a burger, fries, a coke and the check while making almost no eye contact (it was my first time at this place) was talking with the next table about the "cheap bastard" that was in the booth before me that 'only' left an extra 15%...she said all of three sentances to me my entire visit. "What would you like to order", "Here's your food" and "Here's your check"...pretty much the bare minimum and in watching it was the way she treated everybody...yet she wants extra...
As for the pizza delivery. I did that as one of my first jobs. I made minimum wage, got free gas and they subsidized my auto insurance. Not bad for a pretty braindead job of listening to the radio and handing people their orders in a town I know like hte back of my hand.
Meanwhile I tried to tip the guy who delivered my new TV. The guy was EXTREMELY helpful when picking it out and was able to make lots of recomendations (That had nothing to do with any comission), and in the end, saved us a bunch of $$$. When the delivery came it was the same guy and he had to carry it a fair distance. When offered the tip he refused saying he could get FIRED for accepting a tip. Meanwhile the person who's entire job is to bring me a burger, fries, a coke and the check while making almost no eye contact (it was my first time at this place) was talking with the next table about the "cheap bastard" that was in the booth before me that 'only' left an extra 15%...she said all of three sentances to me my entire visit. "What would you like to order", "Here's your food" and "Here's your check"...pretty much the bare minimum and in watching it was the way she treated everybody...yet she wants extra...
We have minimum wage here, so I RARELY tip,i'd say never but if the service is way above what i'd expect then sometimes, but mostly not, it makes no sense to pay extra
Living in Ireland I rarely tip because
a)It's not really part of the culture here
b)Waiters here make minimum wage.I don't see why they should be treated any different than the thousands of other people working minimum wage jobs
c)A lot of restaurants here(usually the fancier kind)add a service charge to your bill which is essentially a mandatory tip.If people think I'm going to tip on top of a tip then they can fuck off
a)It's not really part of the culture here
b)Waiters here make minimum wage.I don't see why they should be treated any different than the thousands of other people working minimum wage jobs
c)A lot of restaurants here(usually the fancier kind)add a service charge to your bill which is essentially a mandatory tip.If people think I'm going to tip on top of a tip then they can fuck off
I live in Australia so I never really tip and I don't understand why people do. If you already paid for your food why should you have to pay extra for someone doing their job? I could understand it if they done more then they really needed to to do a good job but even then it should be up to their employer to reward them.
Also I would prefer to tip whoever cooked the meal. I would imagine that is a little harder then taking food to a table.
Also I would prefer to tip whoever cooked the meal. I would imagine that is a little harder then taking food to a table.
In the US, tips are calculated into the "cost" associated with paying your employees and pricing your meals. If they upped to minimum wage and did away with tips they would recalculate prices which would most likely end up with food costing more than what you currently pay but tipping would no longer be expected. The total cost should remain the same.
Now consider the social dynamic of the matter. The concept of tipping better performing employees allows restaurants (which have notoriously bad margins in most areas) to increase profit by encouraging them to keep employees that regularly get tipped above minimum wage as it costs them less to keep that better employee around. It also produces a more enjoyable experience for the customer who is therefore more likely to return.
Tipping is also the most significant method of differentiating someone who is doing a job vs. excelling at a job. In most workplaces this is an incredibly important factor, why should it be different for them? If anything it gives the power of reward directly to the customer instead of the boss; who most likely cannot reward the person significantly or they would not be paying below minimum wage in the first place.
While it's easy to balance the math, ignoring the social or cultural ramifications is short sighted at best. Changing the system is fine, but just rejecting the current one out of some sort of apathy for people in general is very disturbing.
Now consider the social dynamic of the matter. The concept of tipping better performing employees allows restaurants (which have notoriously bad margins in most areas) to increase profit by encouraging them to keep employees that regularly get tipped above minimum wage as it costs them less to keep that better employee around. It also produces a more enjoyable experience for the customer who is therefore more likely to return.
Tipping is also the most significant method of differentiating someone who is doing a job vs. excelling at a job. In most workplaces this is an incredibly important factor, why should it be different for them? If anything it gives the power of reward directly to the customer instead of the boss; who most likely cannot reward the person significantly or they would not be paying below minimum wage in the first place.
While it's easy to balance the math, ignoring the social or cultural ramifications is short sighted at best. Changing the system is fine, but just rejecting the current one out of some sort of apathy for people in general is very disturbing.
Work as a waiter for a couple months. It does sound like an easy enough job and I don't understand why they aren't paid as well as people in other positions. I haven't been part of the wait staff but working in a restaurant, it's common to be on the receiving end of a lot of abuse from ass customers.krazykidd said:
I don't understand why its customary to tip certain food service people like waiters but not others like the guys behind the counter at Burger King. They can both take a lot of abuse after all. Maybe it's because waiters physically handle the food in more of a meaningful way than the BK guys. I would still tip though of course.
pretty much this. in the UK aswell, and will only tip if the service was good, or to round the bill to a nice even number. waiting tables is a shitty job, and a lot of customers lack just general decency towards people dealing with their food (i currently work in the food industry, although not strictly a restaurant). if the person serving me is polite, i am happy to chip in as my way of saying thanks.TheBobmus said:
also i wasn't aware that the US was retarded in its way of working out the minimum wage. if people are paid below it, surely it is no longer a minimum wage? o_0
Yeah, that. I mean I thought that was the whole reason it was called "minimum wage." As in it was the absolute bare minimum employers had to pay their employees regardless of industry.Marter said:
Technically true, though irrelevant. A waiter/waitress would get fired if they actually tried to hold an employer to that.Matthew94 said: